Easter

Well, I did a new thing this Easter weekend; I attended all four Easter services!  Let me just say, I LOVED EVERY ONE!  I met many of your family members who came to church with you for Easter; thank you for that honor!  I saw God at work in each service, and I discovered that even though Dave speaks four times, each time is slightly different, so I felt I learned something new at each service.  I prayed multiple times throughout each service, and I felt that I could almost explode from the pure joy of people deciding to come running home to Jesus!  HE is so good, and all glory and praise belong to HIM!   

Oh, and by the way, when Dave was describing his perfect day (waking to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, having it brought to him, having all the time in the world to read the paper, etc....., I (along with many of you) thought he was hinting at what I should be doing for him!  :-)  Actually, he may have been hinting, but I am blessed because HE often gets up and makes coffee, brings it to me on a tray with the newspaper, and encourages me to take time to read and relax.  I'm blessed, I know.

This Easter weekend was filled with mixed emotions as two of our church family members had funerals for loved ones.  However, in some ways, it seemed most appropriate that their family members' funerals were during a season when the resurrection Sunday reminds us of the hope we have through our risen Savior who has conquered death and given us eternal life with Him.  The knowledge that our loved ones are with Jesus and that we will see them again brings comfort in the midst of incredible grief.  I thank God that He is our comforter and that he knows our pain.

On Tuesday, we are off with our staff and their families for a day at Gilroy Gardens.  We take all the staff families somewhere on the Tuesday after Easter each year as a thank you for ALL the extra work they do to prepare for Easter.  I am so looking forward to our time together.  We are blessed with the best staff, and we love each one so much.  It is wonderful to see all of our children having fun together, and we love the chance to simply "be" with each other.

Well, my children are wrestling in the living room, and I await the crying that is sure to ensue.  You all know how it is.....it starts off so fun, but inevitably someone gets a little too rough and doesn't know when to stop, and it's all downhill from there!  And usually, I know exactly which child will be the one to turn all the fun around.  Do you have that "one" in your family also?  ;-)